Under2 Coalition Grows to 165 Members with Wave of New
Signatories at COP22
Coalition Now Represents over a billion people and $25.7 trillion in combined GDP
MARRAKECH, 14 November 2016 - Following a signing ceremony at the 2016 United Nations Climate
Change Conference (COP22), the Under2 Coalition and California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today
welcomed 29 new members to the growing pact of cities, states and countries committed to limiting the
increase in global average temperature to below 2 degrees Celsius – the level of potentially catastrophic
consequences.
“This Under2 MOU represents an ever-growing consensus of states and provinces throughout the world
determined to do everything possible to combat climate change,” said Governor Brown.
With the addition of 29 new signatories including the Australian Capital Territory in Australia; South
Sumatra, East Kalimantan and West Kalimantan in Indonesia; Michoacán and Tabasco in
Mexico; Abruzzo in Italy; and the Alliance of Peaking Pioneer Cities in China which represents 23 cities,
including Beijing and existing member Zhenjiang; the Under2 Coalition has now grown to 165
jurisdictions representing more than a billion people and $25.7 trillion in combined GDP – more than
one-third of the global economy.
Speaking at a signing ceremony hosted at the China Pavilion, in Marrakech Jiang Zhaoli, Deputy Director
General of the Climate Change Department of China’s National Development Reform Commission said:
"China's low carbon city program has expanded to 100 cities and provinces. More than 30 of them have
pledged to peak their emissions much earlier than the national target of peaking by 2030.”
The Under2 Coalition, the collective governments who have signed or endorsed the Under2 MOU, was
formed in 2015 by the states of California and Baden-Württemberg, Germany to mobilize – and
galvanize – bold climate action from likeminded city, state and regional governments around the globe.
Coalition members pledge to limit greenhouse gas emissions to 2 tons per capita or 80-95% below 1990
levels by 2050.
“Canberra has some of the most ambitious renewable energy targets in the world and is well on track to
reaching 100% renewable electricity by 2020 and being carbon neutral by 2050, " said Shane
Rattenbury, Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability for the Australian Capital Territory.
“Committing to the Under2 Coalition is a great opportunity for Canberra to take the stage as a world
leader on climate change and clean energy and share our strong progress with other cities.”
The climate pact also set a strong example for the world’s nations to follow ahead of the COP21 in Paris
and has since been endorsed by a number of national governments committed to long-term deep
decarbonisation.
The Climate Group, an international non-profit that works with business, state and regional leaders to
promote a prosperous, low-carbon future was announced as Secretariat of the Under2 Coalition at last
year’s COP in Paris. It is supporting signatories in developing decarbonization pathways to 2050, sharing
expertise and policy solutions, and tracking progress to ensure that governments deliver on their
commitments.
“With the Paris Agreement entering into force earlier this month, all levels of government in every part
of the world need to come together and push forward solutions to secure a climate safe future. This
unique coalition of states, regions, cities and nations is needed now more than ever,” said Damian Ryan,
Acting CEO at The Climate Group.
Additionally, California and the World Bank, in partnership with the Under2 Coalition and the Alliance of
Peaking Pioneer Cities, have just announced an agreement to promote sustainable, low-carbon
development strategies delivered through various initiatives, including the Global Platform for
Sustainable Cities, with a focus on carbon inventory methodology, decarbonization pathways to 2050,
and capacity building for sustainability strategies in Chinese cities.
Laura Tuck, World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development said: “This is an exciting new
platform that will enable us to build from California’s experience in driving down emissions and to
extend it to cities in China and beyond,” said Laura Tuck, World Bank Vice President for Sustainable
Development. “We need partnerships like this if we are going to deliver on the ambitions of Paris.”
More information about this agreement and the Under2 Coalition can be found here and here.
ABOUT THE UNDER2 COALITION
The Under2 Coalition is an ambitious network of sub-national governments publicly committed to longterm deep decarbonization. The Coalition brings together signatories of the Under2 MOU, a
commitment by governments to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions towards net-zero by
2050. All signatories commit to limit their GHG emissions by 80-95% on 1990 levels, or to 2 metric tons
CO2-equivalent per capita, by 2050.
To help governments move from commitment to action, the Under2 Coalition focuses on three areas of
work; developing 2050 pathway plans, scaling innovative policy solutions and transparently measuring
and reporting progress. This forum supports a very unique membership of governments from different
geographies, politics and economies, as they move towards a trajectory consistent with 2050 carbon
neutrality.
Coalition members include 165 states, provinces, regions and city government signatories, as well as
national government endorsers, and together they represent a third of the global economy. The Under2
MOU was created by the governments of California and Baden-Württemberg and The Climate Group has
acted as the Coalition secretariat since 2015.
#Under2Coalition
ENDS
MEDIA CONTACT
Timothy Wild
London
Pete Bowyer
Marrakesh
+44(0)20 7395 0465
[email protected]
+44 (0)7740 913886
[email protected]